The present invention relates to ink jet printing systems that make use of replaceable ink cartridges. More particularly, the present invention relates to a replaceable ink cartridge that includes a memory for storing ink specific information such as, for example, ink type, ink color, remaining ink volume within the ink cartridge.
Ink jet printers frequently make use of an ink jet print head, either thermal or piezoelectric, mounted to a print head carriage The carriage moves back and forth above the print media and generates ink drops as determined by the image in the printer's memory. The ink cartridge can be mounted on the printhead or integral to the print head. Care should be taken in this case when sizing the volume of ink contained on the print head. The inertia of the carriage assembly will increase with an increased volume of ink requiring a more powerful drive motor to overcome its effect during acceleration. The ink cartridge can also be located remote from the carriage with connecting tubes delivering ink to the print heads. The ink tubes generally are flexible and run in a track during the printing operation.
When the ink cartridges are remotely located from the print head and ink is supplied through flexible tubes, the volume of ink contained in the ink cartridge can be large. For example, the Epson 9000 printer uses a 220 ml ink cartridge allowing the operator to print large, complicated images. Typically, these printers will have either four or six black and color ink cartridges each supplying a different print head with ink, This allows for the formation of full color images on sheet or roll media.
When using roll media, the roll is mounted on a feed mechanism, fed across the printer print area and then wound on a take up spool. This process allows the printer to run unattended by the use of a raster image processor (RIP), a local area network (LAN), and a host computer located in a remote location.
The image RIP uses information from the printer regarding the type of ink and media installed on the printer to optimize the image quality of the print. This information can be supplied by the operator or automatically by the printer. Some media rolls include a bar code, which the operator scans into the printer memory when loaded onto the printer ink cartridges include memory chip assemblies which are programmed; head data stored within the memory, with ink specific information such as ink type, ink color, date of manufacture, date of installation, temperature data if used with a thermal printer, and ink volume remaining.
The memory chip assemblies are typically comprised of a flexible circuit and memory chip. Flexible circuits tend to be more expensive than rigid circuit boards adding to the cost of the product but can be mounted in areas not otherwise accessible. The memory chip can be non-volatile thereby maintaining the ink information without the presence of power. The memory chip assembly is typically mounted on the exterior of the ink cartridge using an adhesive. This process of applying the memory chip assembly to the ink cartridge or print head is dependent on the alignment fixturing used or the ability of the assembler to locate it to the ink cartridge or print head. The number of contacts connecting the memory chip assembly to the printer can be as few as one and as many as necessary to control the information on the memory chip.
The information stored on the memory chip can be used for various reasons such as updating printer parameters each time a new cartridge is installed or for adjusting the printing process based on ink specific information. Some manufacturers write information to the memory chip relating to the number of drops fired from its associated print head thereby estimating the amount of ink remaining in the ink cartridge. For thermal print heads, this information can be used to determine the useful life of the print head.
The present invention relates to a replaceable inkjet ink cartridge that provides ink through a delivery system to print heads on an inkjet printer. The print heads may be of the drop-on-demand type, such as thermal or piezoelectric, or continuous ink jet type. The ink cartridge and ink cartridge receiver assembly includes components that allow for the storage of ink cartridge specific information and access of that information by the printer.